a and henry maecellus



mme PATENT OFF-,Icav

`Jouirz MANNY, on "Rockman,- ILLiNors, AND HENRYMARCELLS, 0E

. y i AMsTERDAM, New YORK." o

fflMfelRoy'MEN'i-in,GnmANoonAss HARVESTERS.

`A vfblpllculillll `fQllllngfpartof Letters Patent 12,499, dated March 6, 1855.

To all whom 'it'muy concern! "'Befit known that we,'JoHN1B. MANNY, of '-.Rockt'orth in the county Ot' Winnebago and State of illinois, and HENRY MARcELLUs, of Amsterdam, in 'tlle county of `l\1ontgo'mery and State ot' New York, have in vented certain new and nsefnllni provementsin Reaping and Mowingll'lachinesmt'. which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, and in which- Figurel is an isometrical representation ot' a .portion ofthe bar for supporting the cutting apparatus, com monly called the iingerbar,7 with upon the b ar alone Vfor support.

The improvement in that part of the linger which relates to cnttin g consists in substituting a pair of metal rods, a, for the cap which com-V monly extends over the upper side ofthe sickle. 4These rods or wires occupy the same position relativeto the lower part ot' the finger as the outer edges ofthe caps wouldfif used. 1n ccnstructing this part of the finger arod, round or prismatic in forni, is taken,ot the proper` length, and ascrew-thread is cut on each end, as seen in Fig.- 6. To these screws nuts are.

iitted. -A hole is made through the end ofthe finger transversely, as seen in Fig. 5, through which the rod is passed untilits ends project equally 'on both sides of the finger, when they are bent back, as seen in Fig. 6, the red lines in Fig. 5 showing the position of the ends bei fore bending.' k, Holes are next bored through the'ngenbar in thedirection in which the rods extend back from the Ifront ot' the, fingers, through which therods are passed when the, iin' gers are put in place,and drawntight by the nuts b, screwedon behind, as seenin Figs. 3 and y 4. l `The wires or rods thus arranged, in addition to supporting the grain while being'cut by the sickle, brace and support'the tooth both verti-r cally and laterally. `lt is lobvious that two or more separate rods vmay be. used'instead ot one `h'ent rod,and tlieir endsmay be fastenedto the finger and bar, respectively, in various ways.

' That branch of the improvement which relates to the reciprocal strengthening and snppcrtof the ngers and linger-bar consists in gving'to thatpart of the-Shanks of theiingers which serveto attach them to the linger-bar suchshape that they will interlock-together and tend to support the iingerbar in thesame manner as if the shanks of the fingers were all made in one piece which extended the whole length ofthe barand was connectedto it. rlhere are numerous ways in which the Shanks may be formed so as to interlock or overlap and attain the object we have in view lafter the principle ofconstruction hasbeen pointed out. Two or three modes only are shown in the drawings, as these are vsuiicientyto illustrate the invention and indicate how both longitudinal and transverse support to the bar issuppled by the Shanks of the lingers, and how they may be interlcked together to support each `otherrin position with considerable'lirmnesswithout the aid of a bar.- o

' Thebar c is usually made of wood, but it may be made ot' any other suitable material.

The Jnngers d, I prefer to make of cast metal,

and ofsuch form that while they will strengthen the bar c when attached to it each can, in case it becomes damaged vor worn, be easily removed and replacedby a new one. In the form represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings,. lthe rear lpart, of the'shank,of each nger has three branches,two, ej', extending from one side, andone,g,fromtheother. Thespacebetweenthe two branches of one side is ot' a forni and width .corresponding to the branch of the other side of so to speak,and one branch to break joint with the others, so that fully one-half of the branches ofthe shanks are rendered available to stiifen and support the iin ger-bar.

As the, linger-bar, especially in machines adapted for mowing, is subjected to greater strain, and is more dificult to support than any other part of the frame-work of the machine, because all of the ordinary modes of supporting this part ofthe frame would either obstruct the cutting apparatus or delivery of the cut grass, or lwould render it too bulky or heavy, it will be seen that this improvement, which adds little to the weight and nothing'to the bulk of the bar, and does not in any way obstruct the cutting or delivery of the grass, is highly important and valuable.

It is obvious that the rods may be placed on the under side of the tnger,leaving the cap on the top, without in any way changing the prin ciple of construction or the whole tnger may `be inverted,and the Shanks attached to the top instead of the bottom of the bar c.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Supporting the stalks of grass'or grain to be cut by means of rods or wires on one side of the'sickle while they are supported ou the opposite sideby means of the edges of the finger in the usual way, substantially as herein set forth.-

2. The con-struction of the Shanks or rear part of thefingers in such forni that the Shanks will pass or overlap each other and mutually support each other and stiften the finger-bar, substantially as herein set forth.

3. The manner described of connecting the rods to the vfingers and to the cutter-bar and ci adjusting them so as to support and brace the point of the finger with such degree offorce as muy be required,substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our naines.

JOHN H. MANNY. v HENRY MARGELLUS. Witnesses:

J AMES MANNY, W. WILBER SPoRE. 

